Virginia, 1996

Hail in Virginia, May 4, 1996

May 4, 1996 · NWS LWX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A large rotating thunderstorm dropped a swath of large hail across Culpeper Co. Three-quarter inch sized hail fell west of Culpeper.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$5,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS LWX wrote it up.

A large rotating thunderstorm dropped a swath of large hail across Culpeper Co. Three-quarter inch sized hail fell west of Culpeper. Golfball and ping-pong ball sized hail was reported in Richardsville at 2010EST, shattering an automobile windshield and side window. Between 1955 and 2010EST, softball sized hail fell in Lignum, a small town between Culpeper and Richardsville.

The radar

The Sterling radar (KLWX), 71 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:52 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Culpeper

When
May 4, 7:55 PM EST to 8:10 PM EST
Where
Culpeper County, Culpeper
Measured
4.5 in hail
Property damage
$5,000
Coordinates
38.480, -78.000

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Virginia in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Virginia, May 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5554923.